Sodium tetraborate carrier coating for rod

ABSTRACT

Sodium tetraborate based carrier coatings for wire drawing are prepared by dispersing a water insoluble fatty acid metal salt in a sodium tetraborate coating bath. The carrier coatings on rod are made resistant to atmosphere moisture by heating at an elevated temperature.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 430,437, filed Jan. 3, 1974now U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,314.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The two principal carrier coatings for drawing rod are based on borax orlime. Lime carrier coatings have two main disadvantages. First, it isdifficult to apply a lime coating since the lime floats in the water.Secondly, the lime coating flakes off lime particles in the work areacausing disagreeable breathing conditions and dirty work areas.

Borax carrier coatings do not have the dusty flaking problem associatedwith lime coatings but borax carrier coatings suffer from thedisadvantage that they pick up excessive moisture from the air duringstorage periods in the hot humid spring and summer weather. Excessivemoisture from the air causes the borax coating to become soft andunuseable with the result that the coil must be sent back for recoating.

In addition to providing a carrier to pick up the drawing lubricant andcarry it into the die the carrier coating should also be compatible withthe wire processing steps following the drawing operation. If the wireis to be copper or tin coated then the carrier coating residue must beeasily removed in a cleaning operation. If the wire is to be welded itis important that the carrier coating does not interfere with thewelding operation. If the wire is for making nails then the carriercoating should not interfere with any wire cutting operation in the nailmachine. Any lubricating qualities provided by the carrier coating is,of course, an added advantage.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

I have now discovered that if a substantial amount of a water-insolublemetal soap is incorporated into a borax carrier coating under specifiedconditions, it will render the coating resistant to softening byatmospheric moisture. These metal soaps will be in the form of calcium,aluminum, barium, magnesium or zinc soaps. Suitable soaps are derivedfrom the fatty acids having about 12 to about 13 carbon atoms. It isunimportant whether or not the fatty acids are saturated or unsaturated.One or a mixture of metal soaps are satisfactory for incorporating intothe borax.

The amount of water-insoluble metal soap that will make the boraxcarrier coating retard moisture pickup will vary from about 10 to about30% by weight of the coating. In addition the coating will contain fromabout 1 to about 5% by weight of organic dispersing or emulsifyingagents required to keep the metal soap emulsified in the coating bath.The balance of the carrier coating will be from about 65 to about 89%sodium tetraborate. Various other ingredients may appear in the coatingas may be required in the wire coating bath for neutralizing picklingacid, for wire corrosion resistance, for iron sequestering and formodifying the viscosity of the bath.

The carrier coating is placed on the rod either by immersion of wirecoils in the coating bath or by continuously running the wire throughthe bath. After immersion in the coating bath the coils of rod are putinto a baker where the coils are heated to about 300°-450° F for 2 toabout 5 minutes to dry the coating.

After the coils are removed from the baker they can be stored forseveral days without deteriorating due to moisture pick-up from theatmosphere until they are required for drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The sodium tetraborate based carrier coating is obtained from a coatingbath into which the rod coils are immersed or else the rod is passedthrough the bath continuously as a strand. The rod is wetted by thecoating dispersion and/or emulsion and as the rod leaves the coatingbath the rod carries with it a quantity of the dispersion and/oremulsion. The terms dispersion and emulsion are used interchangeablythroughout the specification and claims. The excess of the dispersiondrops off after which the residue dries on the rod. The composition ofthe coating dispersion determines the composition of the carriercoating. The coating must then be heated at an elevated temperature toremove water and to render it moisture resistant.

The coating bath is prepared by first adding water to a tank and thenthe coating concentrate is added, preferably in powder or granular formwith agitation. The concentrate is added to the water at about 8 toabout 32 oz. per gallon of water.

The carrier coating concentrate will contain about 10 to about 30% byweight of one or more water-insoluble metal soaps, from about 65 toabout 89% by weight of sodium tetraborate and from about 1 to about 5%by weight of one or more organic emulsifying agents which are stableunder alkaline conditions. The water-insoluble metal soaps in thecoating concentrate will be obtained from one or more of the metal soapsselected from the group consisting of calcium, magnesium, aluminum,barium and zinc soaps of the fatty acids having from about 12 to about18 carbon atoms. These fatty acids may be saturated, unsaturated ormixtures thereof.

Calcium derived from lime is the cheapest metal available and is widelyused for this purpose. Calcium stearate is a preferred metal soapbecause of its availability and low cost.

Suitable fatty acid sources for the metal soaps are tridecoic, myristic,palmitic, stearic, linoleic, oieic, and linolinic acids. Mixtures of theabove acids are also suitable such as tallow acid which is a mixture ofoleic, stearic and palmitic acids. These acids will have a titer rangingfrom about 39° to 60°. The amount of free fatty acid in the metal soapshould not exceed about 0.1% by weight.

If the metal soap is not commercially available the soaps can beprepared by saponifying the fatty acid with a metal base usingprocedures well known in the art for making soap. Stearic acid is apreferred source of fatty acid because of its availability and low cost.

The sodium tetraborate can be added as either the 5 water or 10 water ofcrystallization salt. The sodium tetraborate concentration will be about65 to about 89% by weight of the concentrate calculated as the fivewater compound. The balance of the concentrate will be about 1 to about5% by weight of an organic emulsifier required to disperse and emulsifythe water-insoluble metal soap in the coating bath. Sodium tetraborateis readily soluble in water.

The emulsifier can be one or more of a large group of organicemulsifiers as are well known in the art which are stable in alkalinesolutions. Examples of suitable emulsifiers are:

Alkamine C. Concentrate

Alrosol S solid

Aminol OL

Ardet DC

Clindrol 200 CGN

Conco Emulsifier K

Drutergent E

Emcol 5120, 5100, 5130

Emkagen Concentrate

Hallcomid M18-OL

Isoslushoff

Monamid 150-AD

Unamide 75

Witco 960

The composition of these emulsifiers as given in McCutcheon's Detergentsand Emulsifiers are incorporated herein by reference. Combinations ofone or more emulsifiers may be used as desired. Minor amounts of wettingagents may be employed to facilitate wetting of the wire with thecoating solution but these are generally unnecessary as most emulsifiersalso have some wetting properties.

In the manufacture of rod for wire drawing, acid pickling of the rod isusually required to remove mill scale and to clean the wire. On leavingthe acid pickling operation the coils of rod are washed with water butnevertheless will carry with them a residual amount of acid into thecarrier coating dispersion depending on the efficiency of the rinsingprocess. If this acid is allowed to build up it will split out the fattyacids from the metal soaps and render them useless. Accordingly, thecoating concentrates preferably contain alkaline materials such asneutralizing alkali and alkaline buffering agents to overcome the aciddrag-in. Additional alkaline materials may be added to the coating bathfrom time to time to adjust the pH within the range of about 7 to about12 if desired.

Suitable alkalis for this purpose are one or more of the hydroxides,carbonates, and bicarbonates, where available, of sodium, potassium,barium, magnesium, calcium and aluminum.

Suitable buffering agents are the sodium or potassium polyphosphates. Bypolyphosphates is meant the pyrophosphates, for example the tetrasodiumor tetrapotassium pyrophosphates; the tripolyphosphates such as sodiumor potassium tripolyphosphates; and the hexametaphosphates such assodium or potassium hexametaphosphates. In addition to their ability toneutralize acid, the polyphosphates are useful as sequestering agents.Mixtures of the neutralizing and buffering agents may be used asdesired.

The amount of neutralizing or buffering agents, used in my coatingconcentrates are not critical and will usually be in the range of about2 to about 10% by weight of the dry concentrate. Sufficient alkali mustbe present to keep the pH of the coating bath above 7 and preferablywithin the range of 7 to 12. However, separate additions of alkalinematerials can be added to the coating dispersion when needed.

Other additives may be present in the coating concentrate and thecoating dispersion for special purposes such as for corrosion inhibitionand for foam prevention. Sodium nitrite is a typical corrosion inhibitorwhile octyl alcohol is a useful foam depressent. These agents aregenerally used at of concentration of 0.002 to 2.0% by weight of the dryconcentrate.

The coating dispersion is prepared by adding water to a suitable tanksuch as a mild steel tank. Agitation must be applied to the tank inorder to keep the water-insoluble metal soap in suspension. Theagitation is conveniently supplied by pump recirculation of the coatingliquid. The temperature of the water is adjusted within the range of160° to 200° F.

The coating concentrate is then added in an amount ranging from about 8to about 32 ounces per gallon of water. The concentration of the bath ismaintained by periodic additions of the concentrate to the bath as maybe determined by titrating for total alkalinity using methyl orangeindicator and titrating with 1 normal hydrochloric acid. It has beendetermined that the insoluble metal soap leaves the bath on the wire rodat about the same rate as the water-soluble components.

At a concentration range of about 8 to about 32 ounces per gallon ofwater there will be added for each gallon of water from about 0.8 toabout 9.6 ounces of water-insoluble metal soap, from about 7.4 to about41.5 ounces of sodium tetraborate and from 0.1 to about 1.6 ounces of anorganic dispersant. The 7.4 to 41.5 ounces per gallon of sodiumtetraborate (five waters of crystallization) are equivalent to about 5.2to about 28.5 ounces per gallon of anhydrous sodium tetraborate and fromabout 9.9 to about 54.3 ounces per gallon of the ten hydrate salt.

The coating dispersion will preferably contain from about 0.2 to about3.2 ounces per gallon of alkaline materials as described above. Itshould be remembered in this connection that sodium tetraborate is anexcellent buffering agent for acid in its own right. The coatingdispersion must be maintained alkaline preferably within a pH of about 7to about 12 otherwise the fatty acid will split out from the metal soap.Periodic additions of the alkaline materials may be made to the coatingdispersion as required.

Corrosion inhibitors and/or other special additives are used in thecoating bath at about 0.002 to about 2.0 ounces per gallon of coatingdispersion.

The concentration of the bath is one method of controlling the thicknessof the carrier coating on the wire rod with heavier coatings produced bythe more concentrated solutions.

During coating of the wire rod by immersion in the coating bath thetemperature of the dispersion is maintained at about 160° to about 200°F. Slightly heavier coatings are produced at the higher temperature. Theimmersion time is not critical and will generally be from about 6seconds to about 1 minute. Slightly heavier coatings are obtained withthe longer immersion periods.

The sodium tetraborate-metal soap layer which forms on the rod is asmooth, shiny amorphous coating. As the sodium tetraborate leaves thecoating bath on the wire rod it will contain a number of waters ofcrystallization which are then removed after the coating film has driedby heating at elevated temperatures.

The ability of the sodium tetraborate metal soap coating to resistmoisture is obtained by heating the coated rod, for example in a baker,at a temperature ranging from about 300° to about 450° F. The baker is aconventional gas fired, forced air circulation oven. Generally the rodcoils will remain in the baker for a period ranging from about 1 minuteto about 30 minutes. The heat retained by the coil from immersion in thecoating bath also assists in the drying of the coating.

After baking the rod coils are placed in storage until they are requiredfor drawing. I have found that the rods which are coated with the metalsoap-sodium tetraborate coating as described above will resist softeningfrom atmospheric humidity for periods of 2 to 3 days, even in the summermonths. Borax coatings without the metal soap are often unuseable after3 or 4 hours under the same conditions of high temperature and highhumidity.

For wire drawing processes the wire rod coated with the sodiumtetraborate-metal soap carrier coating is drawn through a soap box wherethe drawing lubricant is picked up and carried into the drawing die ordies depending on the number of holes required. The sodiumtetraborate-metal soap coating has another advantage over the prior artlime or borax coatings in that the sodium tetraborate-metal soapcombination provides a certain amount of lubricity for the wire drawing.

The sodium tetraborate-metal soap carrier coating also acts as a weldingflux and cleaning of the coated rod prior to welding is unnecessary.Where cleaning of the wire is necessary such as for tin or copperplating, the residue of the sodium tetraborate-metal soap coating isreadily removed by water and detergents.

In another aspect of my invention I have been able to mix my sodiumtetraborate-metal soap concentrate with a typical borax carrier coatingconcentrate and render the resultant mixture substantially lesssusceptable to moisture pickup.

The best mode of carrying out my invention will be evident from aconsideration of the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

A calcium-stearate carrier coating concentrate was prepared by placing71.3 lbs. of sodium tetraborate (5 waters of crystallization) in adouble arm sigma blade mixer. The steam to the heating jacket was turnedon and 4.5 lbs. of tetrasodium pyrophosphate, 4.5 lbs. of soda ash and1.9 lbs. of sodium nitrite were added with the mixer blade operating.After about 15 minutes of mixing, 15.4 lbs. of calcium-stearate, 1 lb.of diethylene glycol, 1.6 lbs. of emulsifier (1.0 lb. Witco 960 and 0.6lb. of Emcol 5130), were added to the mixer. Mixing was continued withthe heat applied until there was a thorough fusing of the salts afterwhich mixing and heating was continued until there was no longer anytacky feeling of the chemicals to the touch. Upon completion of themixing the concentrate, weighing about 100 lbs. was discharged intodrums and after air cooling was ground so that it passed through 1/4inch mesh screen.

EXAMPLE 2

Following the procedure of Example 1, a calcium stearate-borax coatingconcentrate was prepared from the following ingredients:

    ______________________________________                                        Sodium tetraborate (5H.sub.2 O)                                                                      63 lbs.                                                Trisodium phosphate    10 lbs.                                                Soda ash               2 lbs.                                                 Sodium nitrite         5 lbs.                                                 Emulsifiers            5 lbs.                                                 Calcium stearate       15 lbs.                                                Total                  100 lbs.                                               ______________________________________                                    

The above concentrate was dispersed in water and then used to coat wirerod. Immersion time was 1 minute at 190° F. At a coating weight of 0.311grams per kilogram of wire rod the moisture pick-up versus time in ahumidity chamber at 100% relative humidity and 68° F. temperature wasobserved:

    ______________________________________                                        Time (Hours)      Moisture (% weight)                                          1/2             19.1                                                         21/2             29.7                                                         31/2             31.8                                                         5                32.2                                                         ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 3

Following the procedure of Example 2, a calcium stearate-borax coatingconcentrate was prepared from the following ingredients:

    ______________________________________                                        Sodium Tetraborate (5H.sub.2 O)                                                                      57 lbs.                                                Tetrasodium pyrophosphate                                                                            2 lbs.                                                 Soda ash               8 lbs.                                                 Sodium nitrite         3 lbs.                                                 Emulsifiers (as above) 5 lbs.                                                 Calcium stearate       25 lbs.                                                Total                  100 lbs.                                               ______________________________________                                    

Wire coated from an aqueous dispersion of the above concentrate at acoating thickness of 0.297 grams per kilogram of wire showed thefollowing moisture absorption:

    ______________________________________                                        Time (Hours)      Moisture (% weight)                                          1/2             27.1                                                         21/2             28.0                                                         31/2             30.3                                                         5                31.3                                                         ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4

Following the procedure of Example 2, a calcium tallowate-borax coatingconcentrate was prepared from the following ingredients:

    ______________________________________                                        Sodium tetraborate (5H.sub.2 O)                                                                      71 lbs.                                                Soda ash               5 lbs.                                                 Tetrasodium pyrophosphate                                                                            5 lbs.                                                 Sodium nitrite         2 lbs.                                                 Emulsifiers (as above) 5 lbs.                                                 Calcium tallowate      12 lbs.                                                Total                  100 lbs.                                               ______________________________________                                    

Wire coated from an aqueous dispersion of the above concentrate at acoating thickness of 0.329 grams per kilogram of wire showed thefollowing moisture absorption:

    ______________________________________                                        Time (Hours)      Moisture (% weight)                                          1/2             29.7                                                         21/2             31.9                                                         31/2             34.8                                                         5                37.3                                                         ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 5

Following the procedure of Example 2, an aluminum stearate-borax coatingconcentrate was prepared from the following ingredients:

    ______________________________________                                        Sodium tetraborate (5H.sub.2 O)                                                                      71 lbs.                                                Tetrasodium pyrophosphate                                                                            5 lbs.                                                 Soda ash               5 lbs.                                                 Sodium nitrite         2 lbs.                                                 Emulsifiers (as above) 5 lbs.                                                 Aluminum stearate      12 lbs.                                                Total                  100 lbs.                                               ______________________________________                                    

Wire coated from an aqueous dispersion of the above concentrate at acoating thickness 0.340 grams per kilogram of wire showed the followingmoisture absorption:

    ______________________________________                                        Time (Hours)      Moisture (% weight)                                          1/2             26.4                                                         21/2             32.2                                                         31/2             36.9                                                         5                40.0                                                         ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 6

Following the procedure of Example 2, a zinc stearate-borax coatingconcentrate was prepared from the following ingredients:

    ______________________________________                                        Sodium tetraborate (5H.sub.2 O)                                                                      71 lbs.                                                Tetrasodium pyrophosphate                                                                            5 lbs.                                                 Soda ash               5 lbs.                                                 Sodium nitrite         2 lbs.                                                 Emulsifiers (as above) 5 lbs.                                                 Zinc stearate          12 lbs.                                                Total                  100 lbs.                                               ______________________________________                                    

Wire coated from an aqueous dispersion of the above concentrate at acoating thickness of 0.249 grams per kilogram of wire showed thefollowing moisture absorption:

    ______________________________________                                        Time (Hours)      Moisture (% weight)                                          1/2             22.6                                                         21/2             25.5                                                         31/2             25.5                                                         5                29.0                                                         ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 7

Under the same conditions as the preceeding examples, wire coated with aborax concentrate (72.5% weight borax (10H₂ O) not containing any waterinsoluble metal soap was tested for moisture absorption with thefollowing results:

    ______________________________________                                                 Coating Thickness                                                               0.411 g/Kg.    0.305 g/Kg.                                         Time (Hours)                                                                             Moisture (% wt.)                                                                             Moisture (% wt.)                                    ______________________________________                                         1/2       38.3           51.7                                                21/2       42.7           53.3                                                31/2       42.8           82.0                                                5          47.8           84.4                                                ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 8

Calcium-stearate was prepared from stearic acid and lime in a steamjacket sigma blade mixer. 521/2 lbs. of acid and 271/2 lbs. water werecharged to the mixer and the steam was turned on in the jacket and themixer started. Heating was continued until the stearic acid reached thetemperature of 150° to 160° F. 10 lbs. of lime were added to the meltedstearic acid and mixing was continued for 5 to 10 minutes until thesaponification was complete. This was determined by analyzing themixture for free fatty acids which should analyze 1/10% or less byweight.

EXAMPLE 9

The effect of temperature on the coating weight of a calcium stearatecarrier coating was determined by placing the coating concentrate ofExperiment 1 in water at a concentration of 24 oz. per gallon. Coatingweights were determined at 180°, 190° and 200° F. The coating weightswere observed by immersion of a coil of rod in the bath and holding itin the bath for a time of about 2 minutes to allow the rod to reach thebath temperature. Thereafter, the coils were removed from the coatingbaths, allowed to drain and dry. The coating was then stripped from aportion of each coil and coating weight determinations were made. At180° F., the coating weighed 0.844 grams per kilogram of rod. At 190°F., the coating weighed 1.06 grams per kilogram of rod. At 200° F., thecoating weighed 1.07 grams per kilogram of rod.

EXAMPLE 10

The effect of coating time on coating weight was determined by immersionof wire rod in the carrier coating baths for varying periods and thendetermining the amount of coating after drying. The composition ofExperiment 1 was added to water at a concentration of 24 ounces pergallon. Rod coils were immersed in this bath for periods of 15, 30, and60 seconds, respectively. The coils were removed from the coating bath,allowed to drain and dry, and thereafter the coatings were stripped froma portion of the rod and coating weights determined. At 15 seconds, thecoating weighed was 0.793 grams/kilogram of rod. At 30 seconds, thecoating weighed 0.862 grams/kilogram of rod. At 60 seconds, the coatingweighed 1.06 grams/kilogram of rod. Bath temperatures were maintained at190° F. in all of the determinations.

EXAMPLE 11

The ability of the sodium tetraborate-water insoluble soap carriercoatings to carry lubricant in wire drawing was observed in a wiredrawing plant.

COATING DISPERSION MAKEUP

A mild steel tank was completely cleaned and washed out to remove alltraces of previous carrier coatings. Approximately 1720 gallons of waterwere added to the tank and heated to 160° F. 1200 lbs. of thecomposition of Experiment 1 were then added with agitation to the tank.After a uniform dispersion was obtained a portion of the dispersion wastitrated with 1N hydrochloric acid and 9.6 milliliters of solution wasused. 90 to 100 lbs. of additional concentrate were then added and onretesting the dispersion, 11.5 milliliters of titrating solution wereused. At a bath temperature of 175° the dispersion had a milky whitecolor.

COATINGS

Pin No. 1 contained three coils of 7/32 of an inch C1008 low carbonsteel. Each coil weighed about 1200 lbs., making a compacted bundle of3600 lbs. The coils had been acid cleaned and water rinsed. Pin No. 1containing the three coils was dipped into the carrier coating bath fora total of 6 seconds immersion time at 175° F. A second pin containing 3coils of the same rod was immersed for a total time of about 6 secondsat 175° F. Both pins were then placed on an endless conveyor which movedthrough the baker which was set at a temperature of 300° F. Time in thebaker was from 1 to about 3 minutes. The coating on the rod wasdifficult to see but had a dry smooth surface to the touch of the hand.

Five additional loads of 7/32 inch C1008 coils were coated with totalimmersion times between 5 and 8 seconds at 175° F. The baker was set at350° F. for these 5 loads of coils, and the drying time wasapproximately 1 to 3 minutes.

WIRE DRAWING

The first load of the 7/32 inch C1008 coated rod was taken to No. 11wire drawing machine. It was drawn 3 holes down to 0.142 inch size. Thedrafting was 0.191 inch, 0.165 inch and finish size 0.142 inch. Themachine speed was 1350 PPM. The blocks were all running hot. Thelubricant used was R. H. Miller CXH in the ripper box only. The residualcoating was stripped off at No. 2 die but on the final block, the finishwas satisfactory. There was good carry-through of lubricant on all threeof the blocks and the wire was for chain link fabric and would begalvanized.

A second load of wire was taken to No. 18 machine which was a 2 holedouble deck motor block and it would be drawn 2 holes to 0.142. Thefirst draft was 0.176 inch and the finish draft was 0.142 inch. Thespeed of this motor block was 800 FPM. The lubricant used was R. H.Miller CXH in the ripper only and the second soap box remained empty.The carry-through of lubricant and coating was very good and the finishon the wire was satisfactory and this wire was also used for chain linkfabric and was galvanized.

A third load was taken to No. 1 machine and was drawn 5 holes to 0.080inch; no draftings were recorded. The finish speed was 1700 FPM and allblocks were hot. The lubricant used was half CXH and half lime in theripper box only. The carry-through on all blocks was good and the finishwas satisfactory and acceptable and this wire was also for continuousgalvanizing.

EXAMPLE 12

The ability of the sodium tetraborate-water-insoluble metal soap carriercoatings to resist atmospheric humidity was observed by comparing themoisture absorbed by the coating with a sodium tetraborate carriercoating containing a water-soluble sodium soap. The amount of moistureabsorbed was measured at varying coating weights.

The sodium tetraborate-water insoluble soap used had the composition ofthe concentrate disclosed in Experiment 1. The Borax-water solublesodium soap had the following composition expressed in percent byweight: sodium tetraborate (10 waters)--72.5%, soda-ash--12%, sodiumtallow soap--5%, sodium nitrite--3.0%, tetrasodium pyrophosphate--5.0%,sodium metasilicate--2.0%, emulsifier--0.5%.

All coating bath temperatures were maintained at 190° F. Various amountsof the concentrates were used in the coating baths to obtain differentcoating weights on the wire rod. After the rod was cooled, the rods wereplaced in humidity chambers held at 90 and 95% relative humidity at 68°F temperature. The increase in weight as a percentage of the coatingweight was determined at varying time intervals. The increase in weightas a percentage of the coating weight was determined at varying timeintervals. The results are shown in Table 1 for the sodiumtetraborate-water insoluble soap and in Table 2 for thesodium-tetraborate-water soluble soap coating.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                        Moisture Pickup of Sodium Tetraborate-Water Insoluble                         Soap Coating                                                                  Concentration in                                                              Coating Baths                                                                             24 oz/gal. 12 oz/gal. 12 oz/gal.                                  Coating Weights                                                                           1.07 g/Kg. 0.402 g/Kg.                                                                              0.349 g/Kg.                                 Time (Hours)                                                                              Moisture Pick-up (% Wt.)                                          ______________________________________                                         1/2        18.2       23.0       30                                          1           27.3                                                              11/2                   25.4       34.1                                        21/2                   26.4                                                   3                                 38.8                                        31/2        36.4                                                              51/2                   24.9                                                   61/2        36.4                                                              71/2                   24.9                                                   ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE II                                                        ______________________________________                                        Moisture Pick-up of Sodium Tetraborate-Water Soluble                          Soap Coating                                                                  Concentration in                                                              Coating Baths                                                                             24 oz/gal. 24 oz/gal. 24 oz/gal.                                  Coating Weights                                                                           0.166 g/Kg.                                                                              0.320 g/Kg.                                                                              0.457 g/Kg.                                 Time (Hours)                                                                              Moisture Pick-up(% wt.)                                           ______________________________________                                         1/2        100        45.2       35.7                                        1           150                                                               11/2                   64.9       52.0                                        21/2                              72.1                                        3                      69.9                                                   31/2        150                                                               51/2                                                                          61/2        150                                                               71/2                                                                          ______________________________________                                    

In all cases, the moisture pick-up was much greater for the combinationof sodium tetraborate-water soluble soap as compared with the sodiumtetraborate-water-insoluble soap composition.

EXAMPLE 13

It was determined that a typical water absorbing sodim tetraboratecarrier coating could be rendered much more resistant to water pick-upby adding varying portions of the sodium tetraborate-metal soapconcentrate shown in Example 1. The borax concentrate contained 97.9% byweight borax and 2.1% tetrasodium pyrophosphate. Coatings were appliedfrom baths held at temperatures of 190° F. and varying bathconcentrations were used in an attempt to obtain similar coating weightsfor comparing moisture absorption. The results are shown in Table III.

                                      TABLE III                                   __________________________________________________________________________    Moisture Pick-up-Borax Carrier Coating Compared to Borax-Carrier              Concentrate Mixed with Sodium Tetraborate Calcium Stearate Concentrate                           1 Part Borax Concentrate                                                                      1 Part Borax Concentrate                                      4 Parts Sodium Tetraborate                                                                    9 Parts Sodium-Tetraborate                           Borax Coating                                                                          Calcium Stearate Concentrate                                                                  Calcium Stearate Concentrate               __________________________________________________________________________    Concentration in                                                              Coating Bath                                                                            24 oz/gal.                                                                             12 oz/gal.      10 oz/gal.                                 Coating Weight                                                                          0.350 g/Kg.                                                                            0.374 g/Kg.     0.394 g/Kg.                                Time (Hours)                                                                            Moisture Pick-Up (% wt.)                                            __________________________________________________________________________     1/2      24.3     22.6            21.9                                       1         30.9     26.1            20.7                                       2         44.9     33.5            22.1                                       41/2      53.6     38.6            21.9                                       61/2      58.9     39.7            20.2                                       __________________________________________________________________________

The moisture reduction caused by the addition of the sodiumtetraborate-water insoluble metal soap to the borax concentrate is quiteapparent.

I claim:
 1. The process of coating wire rod with a carrier coatingcomprising immersingthe wire rod in an aqueous coating dispersioncontaining about 8 to about 32 ounces per gallon of water of theconcentrate consisting essentially of from about 10 to about 30% byweight of one or more water insoluble metal soaps selected from thegroup consisting of calcium, barium, aluminum, magnesium and zinc soapsof fatty acids having from about 12 to about 18 carbon atoms, from about65 to about 89% by weight of sodium tetraborate, and from about 1 toabout 5% by weight of one or more organic dispersing agents, removingthe wire rod from the aqueous coating solution in a manner to allow theexcess coating material to drain off of the rod, and heating the coatedwire rod at a temperature within the range of about 350° to 450° F., toevaporate water from the coating.
 2. The process of claim 1 in which theaqueous coating dispersion is maintained within the range of about 160°to about 200° F.
 3. The process of claim 2 in which the pH of theaqueous coating dispersion is maintained within the range of about 7 to12.
 4. The process of coating wire rod with a carrier coatingcomprising-immersingthe wire rod in an aqueous coating dispersioncontaining about 8 to about 32 ounces per gallon of water of theconcentrate consisting essentially from about 10 to about 30% by weightof one or more water insoluble metal soaps selected from the groupconsisting of calcium, barium, aluminum, magnesium and zinc soaps offatty acids having from about 12 to 18 carbon atoms, from about 65 to89% by weight of sodium tetraborate, from about 1 to about 5% by weightof one or more organic dispersing agents, and from about 2 to about 10%by weight of one or more alkaline materials selected from the groupconsisting of the hydroxides, carbonates and bicarbonates of sodium,potassium, barium, magnesium, calcium and aluminum and thepolyphosphates of sodium and potassium, removing the wire rod from theaqueous coating solution, and heating the wire rod at a temperaturewithin the range of about 350° to 450° F. to evaporate water from thecoating.
 5. The process of claim 4 in which the aqueous coatingdispersion is maintained within the range of about 160° to 200° F. 6.The process of claim 5 in which the pH of the aqueous coating dispersionis maintained within the range of about 7 to 12.